ARTICLES
Stimulus Material for depth studies, courtesy of Macquarie University (continued)
Time travelling through small bubbles of oil and gas
Microscopic bubbles of oil and gas trapped in minerals, known as fluid inclusions, can provide us with critical
information about what has happened in the geological past.
Macquarie University’s Professor Simon George (Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences) is the world-
leading researcher in petroleum fluid inclusions, and with Herbert Volk at BP has recently co-published a major
review paper outlining different techniques for analysing these inclusions—a culmination of more than 20 years
of research.
“By better understanding the composition and distribution of these tiny bubbles, we can reconstruct the past
migration, or movement, of oil and gas in the layers of rock below the Earth’s surface,” explains Simon, ”and
better predict where more resources may be found.”
Many oil companies use the techniques Simon has developed to analyse these fluid inclusions when they’re
exploring for new and commercially available oil and gas resources.
This allows them to be more targeted in their approach, saving both time and money.
The techniques they use to analyse these incredibly small volumes of fluid have progressed to such a point,
says Simon, “where there is little that can be done to evaluate a live oil or gas sample that cannot be achieved
for a fluid inclusion sample”.
Find out more
Syllabus link: Earth and Environmental Science Module 1. Earth’s Resources
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 3